SU cornerback Mike Holmes was part of a Syracuse defense that didn’t allow the South Florida offense to score a touchdown last weekend. On Wednesday, Holmes talked about the meaning of the USF win and what it will take to have similar success against the challenge of the Pittsburgh offense:

The Daily Orange: How important is it for you to come out and make a statement against Pittsburgh?

Holmes: We’ve been saying it for some time that we have a good team. It’s one thing to say it, but to go out there and do it by winning games, that’s what people want to see. It’s a different day. It’s very exciting to go out here and have an opportunity to win games, especially competing in the Big East.

How much momentum does (the win at South Florida last Saturday) give you guys heading into the rest of the Big East schedule?

It’s definitely a lot of momentum, because South Florida is a good team. They have a lot of athletes. To go out and compete like this in the beginning is a good thing.

What does it mean to you to see the standings and see Syracuse right there at the top?

It’s early on. We really don’t read into it that much. We still have to play every team in the Big East besides South Florida. But it does feel good to see our names up on the top.

After suffering through some tough seasons at Syracuse, how much does the South Florida victory feel like redemption for all the hard work you’ve put in?

Everything is starting to come around. I think the hardest part was getting in the mentality of winning games. I think getting a win like this is getting over that hump. We know we’re a good team. So sky’s the limit.

Can you talk about (Pittsburgh quarterback) Tino Sunseri and what he brings to the table? What do you see in him, and what’s the challenge for you guys there this week?

He’s a smart quarterback who doesn’t turn the ball over much. He gets the ball to his receivers well. It’s going to be a challenge, just because of how he manages the game and how smart he is with the ball.

Another challenge from Pittsburgh is (wide receiver) Jonathan Baldwin. How tough do you think he’s going to be to play against?

Baldwin is a great receiver. I had a chance to meet him up at (Big East) media day. Watching him on film, he covers the field well. He’s a very tall receiver with a big body. It’s going to be a challenge for me and (SU cornerback) Da’Mon (Merkerson). But we’re prepared, so I’m looking forward to playing him.

At this point, after a very good performance from the secondary last week at USF, where do you think the secondary unit is? Is it where you want it to be? Is there room to improve?

We definitely have room to improve. Going over the film (from USF), there were definitely some mistakes that were made. There are always areas to improve. We’re never getting complacent of where we are in the secondary. Secondary-wise, we definitely have opportunities to change the game. So we’re just trying to make more plays and create more turnovers in the secondary, so we can change the game.

Syracuse hasn’t beaten Pittsburgh since 2004. So what do you and the secondary have to do against Pittsburgh specifically to do your part to make that happen?

Just play good football, you know. Talking about the Big East, too, I haven’t beaten a handful of Big East teams since I’ve been here. I hadn’t gotten a chance to beat South Florida, being one. A lot of us were talking about that. It just felt good to be able to go out and have the last laugh and win going out. Pittsburgh is another team we haven’t beaten since I’ve been here and since a lot of the seniors have been here. So it’ll definitely feel good to go out winning.

bplogiur@syr.edu

Published on October 13, 2010 at 12:00 pm